Queen of hearts: How Maria Sharapova is wowing social media

When Maria Sharapova won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2004, she was still only 17 years old.

More importantly, social media was only just making its way into the world with the launch of Facebook the same year. There was no Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.

Fans were in short supply.

Fast forward to the present day and the Russian legend, despite having retired from active tennis in 2020, is one of the most followed celebrities by the Internet community.

She has over eight million fans on Twitter and close to five million on Instagram who follow her every tweet, every picture, and every emotion.

The five-time Grand Slam champion, who wowed the world by winning 36 singles titles during her colourful career, admitted that it took her years to get comfortable using social platforms herself.

But now she is now a consummate pro.

From posting pictures of herself with her British businessman partner, Alexander Gilkes, to pics with her newborn baby Theodore, and on her holidays, Sharapova does not hold back from telling the world just how much she is enjoying her post-retirement life.

Pics of Sharapova and Alexander with Theodore, their bundle of joy, went viral on the net, proving that she still has a huge fan following, even though people’s memories tend to be short.

The Russian, who is also an A-Lister at top social events, a fashionista and model, enjoys travelling, as she revealed in recent posts of her visit to exotic Greece.

"Catching the last summer rays in The last image …always on duty even inside the caves and a low battery” she captioned posts of her pics on @mariasharapov which were conceivably captured by Gilkes, whom she started dating in 2018 and got engaged to in 2020.

Sharapova is also a member of Moncler, a French-founded Italian luxury fashion house specialised in ready-to-wear and haute couture outerwear that is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

She announced the venture with a Twitter post saying: “Honoured and excited to join @Moncler’s Board of Directors. Maybe Milan could be baby’s first business trip.”

Sharapova has become a regular at fashion events in Europe and frequently uses her social media accounts to tell the world what she is up to.

Pictures of her in London with her fiancé and son visiting the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park and at the Frieze Art Fair 2022 VIP Preview in Regent's Park, London, were devoured by fans.

Sharapova seems to be at home with social media - which must be good news to her millions of fans.

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